My question involves a traffic ticket from the state of: Ohio for violating a local speed code/ordinance.
Does "Reduced Speed Limit Ahead" sign have to be used on a county road entering a municipality when speed is dropping? 55mph to 25mph? I contacted numerous officials in the county (ODOT, County Engineer, Township Trustees, Road Maintenance Crew/Department, and the County Garage) and no one can tell me the rules/regulations on this sign. I kept getting the answer of "I don't know."
When trying to get clarification about who's jurisdiction (outside municipality) a specific part of this road is in I got various answers. Engineer said township, Trustee said it isn't township it is city, and Chief of police said it depends on which side of the road you are on. How do I find out who has responsibility for this section of road?
I've read a lot about how it is pointless to argue about the radar, calibration, and such. I'd still like to ask some questions and know if they'd be worth bringing up after reading the user manual.
1. Does an officer have to be certified to use radar?
2. Does there have to be a paper record (or some proof) that the unit was calibrated?
3. Radar specifications for this model state that the Target Distance is 1 mile. Officer doesn't give a specific point for his location other than "coming around the curve" and "just west" of a certain road. This definition leaves a lot of room on what the distance might be which very well could be over the mile. Does it matter?
4. Moving radar was used. Manual states "In opposite direction mode, care should be taken by the operator to recognize that the violator is traveling at a higher rate of speed than the norm; that the vehicle is out front, by itself, and nearest the radar; that proper identification of the violating vehicle is made; and at the time of speed
determination the patrol vehicle's speed indication on the radar is the same as the reading on the speedometer. If these steps are taken, and the radar was properly checked for calibration beforehand, the officer knows the radar was operating properly and that the radar made a true and accurate determination of the vehicle's speed." Worth questioning the officer about any of this? There was light traffic in the area.
5. Manual states "Fastest Mode Historically, traffic radar has displayed the strongest target. Case law has centered on the ability of the radar operator to confidently identify what vehicle is associated with that indication. It was relatively simple for analog radars to process this method. Modern DSP radar such as the BEE III can process many targets at the same time, but there is no practical way to display multiple targets and associate them with the correct vehicles. Fastest mode gives the operator an opportunity to view one other target besides the strongest. In this mode, the BEE III considers all possible targets (there may be several in range of the radar) and
displays the fastest one. Doppler audio is also provided for this target. While the speeds indicated in the fastest mode are as accurate as normal targets, visual identification of the offending vehicle is more difficult. For this reason, the BEE III only displays fastest targets on request from a momentary switch and does not allow them to be locked. It is intended to be used as a way to gather additional information about a specific situation." If this method was used, can an argument be made that because the officer was coming around the curve and there was light traffic, he didn't ticket the right driver?
6. Should what tuning forks were used be asked since the department uses 2 different radars?
7. Manual states "Harmonic detection In moving mode, the BEE III receives a large reflection from the road, which is used to compute the patrol speed. Some situations, such as when guardrails or large signs are present, cause the signal to be excessively large. This can sometimes cause a harmonic frequency of twice the patrol
speed to appear. These signals would normally be displayed as a target with a speed equal to the patrol speed and prevent the BEE III from reading the speed of real targets, but harmonic detection circuitry inside the BEE III inhibits this. Unfortunately, the harmonic detection circuitry also may reduce the range of actual target vehicles that are moving at the same speed as the patrol vehicle. This is normal and can be avoided by patrolling at a different speed than the offending targets."Guardrails are present on the curve. Any valid argument that can be raised that speed may have been inaccurate?
8. Manual"Range and radar placement The range of the radar is influenced by how it is mounted in the vehicle. Heater fans are moving targets and will be picked up if energy from the antenna is reflected toward the fan. The best solution to this problem is to find a location that minimizes this effect. To determine this location, place the unit in stationary mode, turn the volume up, and open the squelch. This lets any target or interference be heard. If changing fan speeds changes the audio signal, the fan is being picked up in that mounting position; try to find a different location. Reducing the fan speed may also reduce the problem. Reducing the range setting of the radar will also reduce the problem. If you have persistent problems with the BEE III reading the fan speed, call the factory for suggestions specific to your particular vehicle." Worth it to question location?
9. Unit uses a "POP" feature. Study reports online state that the POP feature is not reliable and flawed (and detailed info in the studies). Manual "A note of caution Information derived during the POP burst is non-evidential and to be used as advisory information only, in much that same manner as fastest mode is. Citations should not be issued based solely on information derived from the POP burst since there is no tracking history developed. If the speed is a violation, the radar must be allowed to enter the continuous transmit mode (by pressing the corresponding antenna button again while the POP speed is still being displayed) so that the tracking history may be developed. There is no case law allowing traffic radar citations to be issued without a tracking history, and MPH will not assist in the prosecution of citations issued without a proper tracking history." Is this information that should be released to me if requested?
Thank you for taking the time to read/respond to this.

